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'Chinese languages' includes Mandarin, Cantonese, Hakka, Taiwanese, Chaochow (Teochow), Fukien and Shanghainese, as well as a residual category (Chinese languages not otherwise specified).

Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2006.

Description

This graphic shows 11 mother tongues other than French or English in Canada by immigrant status and period of immigration. Chinese languages make up the largest mother tongue group in Canada. One million persons have a Chinese language as mother tongue. These languages include Mandarin, Cantonese, Hakka, Taiwanese, Chaochow (Teochow), Fukien and Shanghainese as well as a residual category (Chinese languages not otherwise specified). The majority of persons with a Chinese language as mother tongue arrived between 1981 and 2001. This includes almost 500,000 persons. 181,000 persons of a Chinese language mother tongue were born in Canada. 172,000 persons with a Chinese language as mother tongue arrived in the five years preceding the 2006 Census and 151,000 were already in Canada before 1981.

The second mother tongue group other than English or French in Canada, by frequency, is made up of the 475,000 persons of Italian mother tongue. The great majority of them, that is to say 276,000, arrived before 1981. 182,000 individuals of Italian mother tongue were born in Canada, while 14,000 immigrated between 1981 and 2001 and only 2,700 arrived between 2001 and 2006.

The third group is that of those with German as mother tongue, of which there are 461,000. These are almost as numerous as those with an Italian mother tongue. Of the German mother tongue group, 221,000 persons were born in Canada and 179,000 immigrated before 1981. Between 1981 and 2001, 46,000 persons of German mother tongue arrived in Canada and 15,000 arrived in the five years preceding the 2006 Census.

There are 378,000 individuals with Punjabi as mother tongue. The majority, 150,000 persons, arrived between 1981 and 2001, while 115,000 individuals were born in Canada. 50,000 persons of Punjabi mother tongue lived in Canada before 1981 and 62,000 immigrated between 2001 and 2006.

338,000 people living in Canada have Spanish as their mother tongue. 142,000 of these immigrated between 1981 and 2001. 70,000 arrived between 2001 and 2006 and 47,000 were already in Canada before 1981. 78,000 were born in Canada.

Individuals of Arabic mother tongue account for 275,000 persons. The largest group, 122,000, arrived in Canada between 1981 and 2001, while 69,000 immigrated between 2001 and 2006. 29,000 persons with Arabic mother tongue were already in Canada before 1981. 55,000 persons were born in Canada.

Tagalog is the mother tongue of 253,000 persons. 134,000 of them immigrated to Canada between 1981 and 2001. 61,000 arrived in the five years preceding the 2006 Census. 39,000 persons of Tagalog mother tongue were already in Canada before 1981 and 19,000 were born here.

Portuguese is the mother tongue of 225,000 individuals. The largest group, 106,000, arrived before 1981. 61,000 persons were born in Canada. 48,000 immigrated between 1981 and 2001, while almost 9,000 immigrated between 2001 and 2006.

216,000 people in Canada have Polish as their mother tongue. 107,000 of them immigrated between 1981 and 2001, 45,000, before 1981 and 7,000, between 2001 and 2006. 57,000 were born in Canada.

Urdu was reported as the mother tongue of 152,000 individuals. This is a growing group as 52,000 persons arrived in Canada in the five years preceding the 2006 Census while 57,000 immigrated between 1981 and 2001. Only 11,000 persons of Urdu mother tongue were already in the country before 1981. 32,000 were born here.

Ukrainian is the mother tongue of 141,000 persons. The large majority, 102,000 persons, were born in Canada. 21,000 were in the country before 1981. 11,000 persons of Ukrainian mother tongue immigrated between 1981 and 2001 and almost 7,000 arrived between 2001 and 2006.

Note:

'Chinese languages' includes Mandarin, Cantonese, Hakka, Taiwanese, Chaochow (Teochow), Fukien and Shanghainese, as well as a residual category (Chinese languages not otherwise specified).